Discovery not a cure, AIDS experts caution

A potential breakthrough in HIV/AIDS research announced over the weekend is a sign of hope to those living with the virus, but is likely a premature one, Orange County health professionals warn.

When word spread that a baby in Mississippi had been "functionally" cured of an HIV infection, the research community was optimistic, albeit cautiously so. Johns Hopkins University doctor Deborah Persaud told a conference full of researchers in Atlanta that there were no signs of infection in the baby born 21/2 years ago to a woman who did not know she had HIV.

Michelle Sherman is an HIV specialist pharmacist who works with HIV patients at Shanti Orange County, an agency that provides support services, education and psychological care for people living with HIV or AIDS. She worries that some of those patients will learn of the news and get the wrong idea.

"The first thing they'll see is 'cure,'" she said. "They'll think 'there's a cure and it can help me.' But we don't have a cure for HIV."

In Orange County, 218.5 people out of every 100,000 have HIV, according to the Orange County AIDS Services Foundation. However, none of those people will be immediately affected by the finding announced Sunday, said UC Irvine Professor Donald Forthal, an expert on HIV prevention.

Excitement from those hoping for a cure may be premature, Forthal said, especially since the details of the findings have not been published in any medical journal and are still in the early stages.

The treatment won't work on adults infected with HIV – the virus in those individuals has already taken hold. By contrast, the virus in the Mississippi baby was caught extremely early. At which that point, physicians were able to prevent the virus from spreading with a strong cocktail of three anti-retroviral drugs.

Despite the exciting research findings, the news may end up being more disappointing to those who are reminded that they must live with the infection for the rest of their lives, said Philip Yaeger, executive director of the AIDS Services Foundation Orange County.

The foundation holds weekly support sessions for young people living with HIV. This week, Yaeger said, specialists will be on hand to explain the details of the recent findings, and make clear that there is still no cure.